Photo: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty
PresidentDonald Trumprecently lent his support to Louis Vuitton, but an artistic director for the luxury brand isn’t reciprocating the gesture.
Days after Trump and his daughterIvanka Trumpattended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of a new Louis Vuitton workshop in Texas,Nicolas Ghesquièreslammed the president on social media, specifically pointing to Trump’slack of support for LGBTQ rights.
“Standing against any political action. I am a fashion designer refusing this association,” Ghesquière, the artistic director of women’s collections at the famed fashion house,wrote on Instagram.
“Trump is a joke,” he added in a hashtag alongside another that simply read “homophobia.”
The LVMH group, which owns the brand, has not publicly commented on Ghesquière’s stance. But he has received support from colleague Camille Miceli, the creative director for accessories, who responded with a trio of applause and heart emojis.
Last Thursday,Bernard Arnault, the founder and chairman of LVMH, joined the Trumps at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“We are very honored to have the president of the United States,” Arnault said during the event, according to theThe New York Times. “I am not here to judge his types of policies.”
“I have no political role. I am a business person. I try to tell him what I think for the success of the economy of the country, and the success of what we are doing” Arnault added.
In an earlier interview, Michael Burke, chief executive and chairman of Louis Vuitton, commented on the fact that the president also hosted a campaign rally and a fundraiser on the day of his visit, saying, “We have nothing to do with the timing,” theTimesreported.
From left: Alexandre Arnault, Michael Burke, Bernard Arnault, Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump.NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty
At the event, Trump, who alsomispronounced the brand’s name, spoke about how he and Arnault first met after his election “to discuss my vision for creating an American manufacturing renaissance.”
“Bernard had faith in that vision — the vision of doing something right here in this incredible state — and promised to bring a brand-new factory to the United States. And today, wow, has he delivered. He’s really delivered. This is some place,” said the president, noting that the workshop will employ 500 people.
During his speech, Trump also took a moment to lavish praise on daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was also present.
“What a good job you do,” he said, before doubling down on his claims that his daughter was responsible forcreating millions of jobs.
source: people.com
